The Reverse Paradox
by ThyHuntress
Summary: What might have happened if Artemis hadn't told Holly he lied to her at the moment. A One-Shot. An awkward A/H. Rated T just to be safe.


A/n

**Disclaimer: All of the below shown under the weird indication belong to their rightful owners. Any original plot, characters, or items labeled are legally bonded to the author. Copyright not intended but if needed then accepted.**

This is pretty much a remake of the scene on pages 179-180 from THE TIME PARADOX. If there are any mistakes, please tell me.

Sincerely,

ThyHuntress

Xx-Xx-Xx-Xx-Xx

'_I have to tell her, I have to_,' thought Artemis as he watched Holly lean back against the hood of the Mini Cooper.

Instead of blurting it out right there, Artemis climbed onto the hood and sat down beside Holly. Her eyes flickered out and she turned to stare at him. Guilt gnawed in Artemis`s stomach as the pair of mismatched eyes, the same as his, stared at him. It was quite uncomfortable to see the eyes of his friend that he is lying to stare at him in such perplexity.

"Is there something wrong?" Artemis asked. He was worried that Holly had already found out about the lie. Yes, he was going to have to tell her sooner or later, but it would have felt more comforting to know that she wasn`t angry at him just yet.

Holly frowned, but her gaze kept straight on Artemis. "No, well, at least that I am not sure of."

Heart pounding in his chest, yet still ignoring it, Artemis smiled weakly at her, in which she returned back. The following silence was awkward and uncomfortable to both occupants. It was like a first meeting of two strangers.

Artemis leaned back against the hood and closed his eyes. He started to think. If he told Holly, surely, she would understand why he did it—anything to save his mother. The problem was that Holly wasn`t exactly a person who would be that forgiving to others. Their barely friendship was going to be brought down a notch when the truth was told. It would be such a waste of something that could have been.

"Sorry about what happened earlier. You know, the incident," Holly said. Artemis opened his eyes and turned to look at her.

The sunlight shone down on her hair. The brilliant clash of the red and light created a halo against the hood`s metal.

"So you mean the kiss?" Artemis inquired, even when he knew the answer before it was said. Artemis gazed at her fine features and nearly blurted the truth out, right then and there, but something stopped him. It was the eccentric look on that appeared on Holly`s face as she nodded.

Holly sighed and gave him a confusing smile. "Yes. I don`t know why this is happening to me. We are not even in the same species. And when we go back, both of us will be the same again." An annoyed look appeared upon her face. "Listen to me, blabbering. The time stream as turned me into what you can call a teenager again."

All that was said was true to Artemis. But to him, it was not much of a punishment. He thought of it as a more interesting experimentation.

_Extraordinary. How much can opinions change after an obdurate event?_

"What if I`m stuck this way? Surely it couldn`t be that bad, could it?" Holly asked. The confounded expression was still on her face.

"Perhaps," answered Artemis. He had no idea on why he did. It was like an instinct in him.

"That kiss…it was…." Holly trailed off, her voice lowering with each passing second.

"Unusual?" suggested Artemis.

Holly thought for a moment before she answered. "Well, I was thinking more of exhilarating or amusing, but unusual could go too." She tilted her head at Artemis and gave him a thoughtful look. "But that`s my opinion on it. What about you? How did you feel about the kiss?"

Artemis was aghast. She had thought the kiss was…exhilarating? Then she asked him what his opinion on it was? There weren`t many times when Artemis would be reduced to stuttering—although, ever since hormones at gotten the better of him, it had been happening more often—but this was one of the times.

"Well, I, um…" Artemis scowled at his lack of word-structure. '_Damn hormones_,' he thought bitterly. Even an eighteen-year-old man could be taken over by hormones. In a way, he was still a teenager.

Holly gave him an amused look. "Artemis Fowl, stuttering? And over a simple question, too? Well, this should make history."

If he had compulsion to do it, he would have glared at her and made a stark remark back, but right now, his mind was in another place.

'_If I tell her now, our friendship will be ruined_,' Artemis thought.

_But if you don`t and wait till the end, then she`ll be even more upset at you for not telling her_ _sooner_.

'_So, either way, Holly will end up mad at me, correct_?' Artemis thought. Then he questioned his sanity.

_Correct_.

"Artemis, are you okay?"

Artemis blinked and turned to Holly, who stared at him in worry.

"Of course I am. Why would I not be?" Artemis asked.

Holly raised an eyebrow. "You blanked out and then looked like you were having an argument with yourself." She gave him a look.

"I assure you, I am fine," Artemis said forcefully. He felt the guilt increasing as he, once again, said the lie.

Holly didn`t answer, but instead gazed at him with confusion—and he daresay—longing? The next few minutes were awkward as the two waited for their time to be up. Fifteen minutes had almost passed. Most of them were wasted by silence.

Suddenly, Holly scooted closer to Artemis, a look of lust in her eyes. He stared at her in confusion as she continued nearing up to him. The space between them immediately closed. Holly`s left side was now pressed, tightly, against Artemis.

Artemis was about to ask why she was doing this, when she suddenly was sitting on his lap. Artemis felt his cheeks heating up and he looked down at Holly, who had turned her body until she was kneeling on his thighs to look up at him. There was a moment of silence as Artemis and Holly stared at each other, both mismatched eyes locked. Then Holly did a spontaneous act. She leaned forward and slowly kissed Artemis.

Artemis didn`t even try to pull away or push her off. The reason was either that he enjoyed it or he couldn`t think properly enough to make a move. The only thing in Artemis`s mind that could partake properly was the area where all the feelings were stored. And those feelings were mixing up into a mess as the kiss continued. There was no telling on what Artemis was really feeling. He couldn`t understand of this was lust or love—if this was something of possible affection or just a mistake. For the first moment in his life, Artemis wished his brain would just shut down. It wasn`t any easier either way, though.

When Holly finally pulled away, she was gasping for air, her cheek tinged in red. Artemis breathed in heavily as he stared at Holly, eyes widened.

As soon as her breathing calmed down, Holly stared at Artemis. "Oh Frond, what did I do? Artemis, let, I mean…" Her sentence trailed off as she sighed. "Our fifteen minutes are up. We should talk about this later."

Artemis nodded with understanding. "Yes, we should."

Holly hopped off the Mini Cooper`s hood and strode across the McGraney boundary, occasionally glancing back at Artemis in embarrassment and something else that Artemis couldn`t detect due to the fact that his brain wasn`t functioning well. Dawn sunlight shimmered down on Holly`s auburn hair. Holly`s passage way through the grass sent a surging ripple of light flashing across the meadow.

Artemis stared after her then got off the hood. As he walked after her, he made a promise that he was determined to keep.

_As soon as all this had ended, I will tell Holly the truth, no matter what happens_.

Xx-Xx-Xx-Xx-Xx

Hmm, well, this was…interesting. At least it turned out better than I had expected.

Some of the sentences that came directly from the actual book were changed due to the logic fact that I rather not be sued for copyright today.

Also, I need a beta. Any betas out there that are willing to improve my stories that I write? Any ones who are very good with grammar? I am begging you. Help me! Also, please explain to me how a beta can actually see the file. I am new to all this fanfiction talk.

Review

Sincerely,

ThyHuntress


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